Stronger Still
by Jag-o-mite
Summary: <html><head></head>*Sequel to Stronger Than Yesterday* With a solid case against the spirit world, a stalker in a tree, and a world changing curse affecting her every waking moment, Kagome finds that power and strength comes from many unexpected places. *Sexual content, mature audience, strong violence.* Told in a series of connecting snippets.</html>


She took another step.

The glass cracked and grated beneath her bare feet, but she was numb to the pain now.

Another step and she slipped from her weeping wounds.

Her movements were slow but steady. She was determined to get there.

Dedicated.

Devotion.

Love.

They were her strengths. They helped her get over the wounds. Helped her ignore the pain. Got her to overcome the hardships of this new life.

Cracks adorned one of the walls and for a nice composition, a hole ornamented another. There was also an indention on the ceiling, but she didn't like to think about that. The furniture was either broken or overturned, some were both. Yet, the crib was untouched and whole.

With scarred arms, Kagome reached into the crib for the crying baby. Cooing, she cuddled the precious cargo in her arms and began to bounce gently. Though swaddled in the blanket, a small hand appeared and clutched at her with tiny flesh gouging claws.

She smiled against the pain, because it was alright. Her baby had a strong grip. Her baby was healthy; strong.

Grey eyes peeked out at her and then behind her. She spun to find a horror standing over her. A tall and featureless torso with no head. Vaguely humanoid in shape. It was thin, both physically and substantially. A scribble come to life. A shadow of life. And her baby had made it.

She wasn't scared. She was proud.

Look at what her baby had done.

* * *

><p>She knew he was out there. She didn't know where he hid, but she knew he was near. Watching her house. Waiting for a glimpse of her. Being a creepy little stalker.<p>

She found it exciting; no, adorable. Maybe even a little charming. Maybe. It probably shouldn't be. She knew that on a certain level, it could be thought of as scary. It was scary to have a tiny, psychotic, sword wielding, fire generating, spike haired demon keep your house under surveillance. It was scary, but she thought it was cute. She didn't like that.

Curled on the couch, she tried to think of anything but him. It was hard. She wanted him in that tree. She wanted him near. She wanted to feel his warmth. Look him in his angry, red eyes. Those scarlet jewels that seemed to scald her with their intensity.

She wiped the smile off her face. She didn't want this. This was a forced reaction on both their parts. Well, maybe it wasn't. It wasn't like Hiei was dead inside. He could possibly have true feelings for her. She knew that he could have urges. She saw what he could do with that first hand. The images he placed in her head still floated to the surface of her mind every now and then.

Swallowing the saliva that pooled in her mouth, she remembered him pinning her to a bed and his obtrusive 'scabbard'. She remembered in the dragon cave. The teasing, the smirk, those grazing fingers, and again, those scalding eyes.

He was a sneaky, closet pervert and he wanted her. He had wanted her for a while. Now that she was tuned into him like an FM radio, she saw his attraction to her. The little bastard had cut her clothes off while sparring.

"Kagome."

She was jerked from her thoughts by the arrival of her mother.

"Kurama is on the phone for you."

Of course he was.

"Tell him I'll call him later."

"Alright dear."

As her mother left, Kagome curled in tighter into herself.

Kurama was a problem. She couldn't remember him displaying any attraction to her before now. She had found him attractive before. Who wouldn't?

He was tall and muscular. His hair was so vibrant, thick, and well maintained; it was almost as beautiful as his face. She couldn't forget that he was intelligent, not quite as fueled by violence as his companions, and he was soft spoken. A total flip of the switch from the outspoken, crass, and loud mouth demons she was used to.

Yet, she felt that all his new found affection for her, and hers for him, was only a result of her curse. Yes, he had popped up and told her that he didn't completely regret having sex with her. That he had never stopped thinking about it. That he couldn't get the thought of her out of his head. It was kind of romantic, just crappy timing. She couldn't trust his feelings. She knew she couldn't trust her own. Besides appreciating his looks, she hadn't thought of Kurama in that way. Other than 'the Happening', they hadn't had much chemistry, let alone many interactions.

Well, there was that very intimate, sensual, and gory moment when he had to lick her bloody back. Like there last intimate moment, he had been in control, while she rode it out in an induced stupor. This stupor being pain and blood loss instead of glamour, but she could recall a few details. Practically undressed, she lay flat on her stomach as Kurama straddled the back of her legs. His hands were firm but gentle as he held her in place. He alternated from cleaning her wound to licking it with his rough and skilled tongue. Bending low next to her ear, she could remember hearing low rumbles, growls, in his chest. His saliva acted as a numbing agent as it tried to speed up her natural healing process. But where it numbed her, every touch made her squirm from the pressure. And when she squirmed against him, his rumbles grew deeper and so did the pressure on her backside.

She closed her eyes and drew in deep breaths. That wasn't much to go on. That was a very intimate moment for him and she couldn't fault him for getting aroused. The situation was too sensual for him not to. She was semi-unconscious for most of it and it was erotic for her. Until she finally passed out.

A movement to her right jolted her from her thoughts. Turning, she saw that her mom had joined her on the couch. Smiling weakly, she sat up straighter for her.

"What is it, mom?"

Her mother shrugged as she positioned herself comfortably. "That's what I was going to ask you?"

She looked around confusedly. "I'm just watching TV."

Her mother smiled at her. "I turned the TV off 10 minutes ago."

A glance to the TV proved her right. "Well that's embarrassing."

"Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

She shook her head no. "There's nothing wrong mom. Just tired."

"Nothing you want to tell, you mean?"

"What makes you think something is wrong?"

Her mother picked at her skirt. "Just little things only a mother would notice. You're distracted a lot. You're withdrawn. You have conflicted emotions."

"What makes you say that?"

"That Kurama. Whenever he's around you light up and you have a bounce to your step. But when he's gone and his name comes up, you grimace and seem indifferent towards him. Like just now. You seemed displeased about getting a phone call from him."

Kagome pursed her lips and turned away.

"Little things like that." Her mother continued. "That and the fact that you have a dead arm, scales, and are suing a spiritual world with a solid case on your part. Oh and the small ninja I sometimes see in the trees."

Her lips twitched at the mention of the ninja.

"You have seen the ninja, haven't you? Please tell me you have, I would hate to think I was hallucinating."

"Oh mom, it's a long story and there's really nothing you can do about it."

"I know sweetie. I know I probably won't have any idea what you're talking about. I'm not magical or strong. I never went on an adventure or fell in love with unrealistically beautiful men like the ones that seem to flock to you."

"They don't flock to me."

"They are all extremely attractive Kagome. Especially that Mr. Sesshoumaru."

"Momma!" Kagome exclaimed with a laugh as her mother blushed at the thought of her attorney.

"It is ridiculous how good looking he is. And so tall and stoic. He's mysterious, but he exudes power. He makes me tremble."

"Eww."

"What I'm trying to say, Kagome, is that, even though I cannot relate or possibly solve any of your problems for you. I can help relieve your burden. You can confide in me."

Curled on the couch, her mind reeling with thoughts and emotions, Kagome looked at her mother and felt like a little girl again. She just wanted to hide behind her and have her make all her troubles go away. She just wanted her mother to rub her back and tell her everything was going to be okay. She wanted to get a load off her chest. So she did.

She let it all out and told her mother everything. Once she started she couldn't stop and her tale spilled forth from her mouth. All the confusing, horrible, humorous, and embarrassing details. For her part, her mother listened silently and was there to hold her as she began to sob.

As her tale came to an end and her racketing breathing evened out, Kagome glance up at her mother, who was absently stroking her hair with a contemplative expression.

"Mom?"

Her mouth tightened and she hummed uncommenting. Kagome sat up and looked at her with concern.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

"Mmhmm. So, Kurama…hurt, you?"

She flinched. "Yeah. Well, part of him did."

"But not the part that I see?"

"No, ma'am."

"But that part sees me?"

"That's right."

Her mother nodded her head, more to herself than to Kagome's comment.

"And you killed a child?"

"It was a little boy. Don't even know if he was demon or not. He was just too powerful and angry. He would've killed us if we didn't him."

"You killed him?"

"Yes."

"After he ripped your arm out?"

"Yes."

"And then you died?"

"That's right."

"And that same child cursed you, cursed your body into wanting to get pregnant?"

"That's what I think is happening. Yes."

"Why pregnant?"

"I might have said something about doing a better job than his mother."

"You taunted him?"

"I pitied him. I felt sorry for him and angry at whoever had put him through that." Her mother wrapped her arms around her and she realized she had started to tear up.

"I know that must've been hard for you. But it's over with now and you did what you had to do. You're going to have to let it go."

"I know, but there's not the problem now.

"There's another problem?"

"Yeah. Kind of. Its Kurama and Hiei. Hiei is the ninja in the tree. They seem to be, I don't know, the lead contenders, for this…situation. They're attracted to me, I'm attracted to them, but I don't think it's real. I don't want to have a baby with them and then have the attraction go away. That's going to leave resentment and possible abandonment for me and the baby. I don't want to be a single mother, that's not how I had imagined my life. I wanted to finish school, get a job, get married, and then have 2.5 kids. This curse thing has thrown me out of whack."

When she looked at her mother she saw a strange look upon her face.

"I'm not condoning it, but being a single mother is not as terrible as you make it seem. I feel like I did a pretty good job."

"NO!" she called out in mortification. "I wasn't trying to say anything bad about you or single mothers. I just don't…"

"Don't want to be one? No one does sweetie, well, not many people."

"And it's not like you've always been a single mother. When we lost dad, you at least had grandpa around."

Again her mother's face seemed strange. "Let me tell you a little something, Kagome. It's true, I wasn't always a single mother, and I had your father until Souta was a baby, and you were still a little girl, but as for having grandpa to help, not so much."

"Am I about to learn some horrible secret that I was too young to remember?" Kagome whispered with dread. "Because I don't think I can handle that."

Her mother smiled at her. "No sweetie, nothing like that. Your grandpa is the grandpa you've always known and loved. It's just that he's not my grandpa, or my father, which he chose to remind me of constantly when I first married your father. Grandpa didn't like me much when I was dating your father and refused to acknowledge me as a daughter-in-law. Felt I was using my pregnancy with you to gain access to his family's land and money."

"But…I was born two years after you guys were married."

"Exactly."

"It wasn't until after your father died and grandpa started to become feeble that he warmed up to me. Needed a caretaker by then."

"Wow."

"So with all that going on with me, I think I did pretty well raising two children and an old man." Her mother patted her knee proudly with a broad smile upon her face.

"You are so cheery. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, my situation is resolved and my children are old."

"I'm not old." Kagome mumbled aloud.

"I can help you with your problem though."

"You can?"

"Of course, sweetie."

"You can help me not get pregnant before I'm ready? Even though I have a curse on me that's forces me and potential men to have unwanted amorous feelings for eachother? Even if I might give birth to a monstrously powerful, possibly demon baby? Despite the fact that the main guys trying to get into my pants are best friends? Even if I don't know if I truly want to be with them or if my curse is forcing me to feel that way? You can help me with all that?"

"That's what mothers are for."

"I don't think mothers should have to go through this."

"But I'm an exceptional mother. Let's see how to fix this." With a hand to her chin, her mother looked off thoughtfully into space.

"Well first off, we'll make sure you're never alone with your suitors. Invest in contraception. Maybe enroll in a yoga class to help with your hormonal problems. You know some yoga styles use meditation, that'll help to calm your urges. As for school and career, that'll be all you. Tutoring and evening courses to make up for missed lessons. That'll also help with hormones; you have so much to make up, sweetie. We have this non-pregnancy in the bag."

"What about when I do have the baby?"

Her mother's smile became frozen. "When? So you do want a baby?"

Kagome stopped. Frozen.

"Kagome?"

She could do nothing but breathe.

Her worried mother poked her in the head.

"I think I do." She finally said, answering her mother and her own misgivings.

"Really?"

She looked to her mother with an uneasy grimace. "Yes?"

Her mom smiled. "Even if it's an unholy, demonic, monstrosity?"

"Why unholy?"

"The monstrosity or demonic part didn't bother you?"

"Demonic is highly likely though. Kurama and Hiei are both demons."

"Oh." Her mother exclaimed happily. "It's for sure out of those two?"

"Well…yeah. Unless someone amazing comes along and blow those two out of the water." She tried to make it sound like a joke but it fell flat.

"What about Mr. Sesshoumaru? He seems like he could blow anyone out of the water. Makes your Kurama look like trash."

"Wow mom. You have such a major crush."

Her mother only blushed and smiled off at nothing. Daydreaming of a tall and powerful former feudal lord.

"Yeah, so, Sesshoumaru did blow those two out of the water. He was the one who helped me realize that I might be cursed."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. When we first got together for a meeting, I had been finding myself being more attracted to people lately, and getting a lot of attention from men, but when Sesshoumaru walked in…" she stopped midsentence as her face reddened from embarrassment.

"Oh my." Her mother squeaked.

"Well, he was obviously affected too…"

Her mother leaned forward with excitement. "How obvious?"

"Eww mom!"

"Don't eww me, it's perfectly natural."

"Anyway. It just suddenly stopped with a grunt."

"A grunt?"

"Yeah. He just sort of grunted and it went away. Apparently he is asexual."

"Oh that's a shame." Her mother said with the disappointment heavy in her voice as her shoulders seemed to slump sadly.

"I'm starting to think it's not."

"You're no fun. So what happened next?"

"He explained that he hadn't felt anything like that in centuries and it was most likely a supernatural influence. We talked some more, mostly about the case, about what happened with the spirit detectives, and he suggested that I might've gained a death curse when I killed Weylin."

"That really is a shame. A waste really."

"Mom, I'm cursed here."

Her mother sighed. "Right. Cursed to never have relations with Mr. Sesshoumaru."

"Stop."

"And give birth to a possibly demon baby. You've handled demons before. You're a strong young woman, and you're not rushing into anything. You can handle anything that comes your way. I have faith in you."

"Wow. You're taking this in stride."

"Kind of used to it. I don't know if you know this, but my daughter is a time traveling, demon vanquisher."

"Well that makes your daughter sound kind of awesome."

"She's nothing compared to her mother though."

Looking at her mother's smiling face and the way she was so accepting of her issues, Kagome smiled and leaned into her mother's embrace. "I can see that."

"You have always been pretty accepting of all this stuff."

"I am readily adaptable. Always have been. You should have seen me when I was younger."

"What did you do?" she asked with amused curiosity.

"Nothing you need to know about this day, dear."


End file.
